You can catch our initial Radford primer here from prior to the teams’ first meeting.
The Highlanders defeated Liberty in the teams’ initial meeting this season, 72-63, on January 8th in Radford. Can the Flames return the favor en route to their 3rd consecutive win? Here are 5 things to consider for the rematch.
1. Since the previous meeting, Radford is 8-6 while the Flames are 5-9. The Highlanders are locked into the 3 seed from the North Division for next week’s Big South Tournament. Radford is an impressive 5-2 on the road in conference play this season. Liberty is just 3-4 at home in conference play. Liberty has won the past three meetings at the Vines Center.
2. With a win, Liberty will enter the Big South Tournament riding a 3-game winning streak. Last season, the Flames used a regular season finale win over the Highlanders to propel them to a 5 game win streak en route to the 2013 Big South Tournament Championship. Coach Dale Layer & company hopes the same can happen this season.
3. It will be interesting to see how much motivation Radford plays with. The Highlanders are already locked into the 3 seed and will be playing the 6 seed from the South, Presbyterian, in the first round of next week’s Big South Tournament.
4. Javonte Green could be named to the first-team All-Big South team next week. He’s averaging nearly 17 points and 8 boards per game, and ranks in the top 10 in the conference in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, and steals. Green had a relatively quiet night against Liberty in January, scoring 12 points and grabbing 8 rebounds. He has scored in double figures in all but 3 games this season with a season-high of 33 points against Charleston Southern February 5th.
5. Radford is 19-11 on the season, and needs just 1 more win to reach 20 wins for the first time under head coach Mike Jones. The Highlanders have not had a 20 win season since the 2008-09 season.
Prediction: Even though it was against Campbell and Longwood, 2 of the worst teams in the conference, Liberty seems to have found their rhythm on offense. The Flames look to ride their recent hot streak to a 3rd consecutive win against Radford who has little to play for in this game. Liberty should get a win on Senior Day. Liberty 77 Radford 73
Once again LU needs STRONG leadership from its guard/forward combos. Without it, the game could be ugly.